This might not interest very many of y'all, but I think it's important and this is my website after all.

Anyway, I'm sure to many folks a discussion about motorcycle safety gear is akin to makeup on the proverbial pig. There are the non-riders, to whom the helmets, jackets, gloves, pads, and boots that they see on bikers while they drive along just represent the idiocy of the person who chose to participate in highly unnatural act of straddling a motor and taking off at more than a mile a minute. However, it can easily be argued that rolling around inside a metal box at those same speeds is not only the primary hazard to a motorcyclist, it is far less "natural" considering how long humans rode horses before the advent of the automobile.

But I digress. To be honest, I'm just fine with this mindset among non-riders. When I am on my bike, I am just as likely to assume that you are an idiot just because you are driving a car. Everybody assumes that everyone else is an idiot and can not be trusted to use the road with consideration of others--true game theory in action--and we all end up a little more tense on the roads but also a little less at-risk. It's also pretty symbiotic, really. In order for a cager call a motorcyclist on the road an idiot, they first have to notice said motorcyclist and thus are less likely to run over said motorcyclist. Coincidentally, not getting run over is exactly what a motorcyclist wants in the first place. Thank you all for reading. Now, if you don't mind stepping outside for a moment, I'd like to say a quick word to my fellow bikers.

Have they all left? Alright, guys, thanks for bearing through that. Y'all know we have to put it delicately with the cagers. But, listen, I really do have something I think y'all should think about: helmets. The fact is that you can gripe about cagers all you want and tattoo "SHARE THE ROAD" on your fat girlfriend's lower back, but it is simply stupid to do this without a helmet. Believe it or not, you don't have to have one that has skulls, or dragons, or that look like a fifth grade art project. They make them in all types, you know? And you know in the good ol' USA that no matter what helmet you buy, it'll be cheaper than a visit to the hospital.

I've had my fair share of injuries, including a couple of gnarly ones. Both could have definitely been avoided with adequate safety gear, which is why I look like a damn transformer when I go ATG. Fortunately, my melon was fine in both instances precisely because I had a helmet on.

In the simplest terms, here is the reason that I wear safety gear, at the very least a helmet, every single time I get on my bike: I love riding my bike. When I ride I feel a genuine stir in my soul that the universe reserves only for the most important, challenging and most rewarding experiences in life. I love it so much that I want to ride it not just today, but also tomorrow, and day after that, and the next day.